“Michael Bohnen had a fascinating career. He made his operatic debut in 1910 in Düsseldorf as Kaspar in DER FREISCHÜTZ . By 1928 he was fully established as an opera singer and film actor, singing Wagner at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and enjoying a three-year contract with Warner Brothers in Hollywood. Marital difficulties hastened his return to Berlin and involvement with the production of CASANOVA. He fell under the spell of the cast’s ‘Spanish dancer’ La Jana, and they lived together in Berlin until La Jana’s death in 1940. Bohnen continued singing at the highest level until the end of the second world war.”

- David Patmore, CLASSICAL RECORDINGS QUARTERLY, Winter, 2010

“Bohnen was a major international artist. He sang at the Metropolitan Opera 1923-32. He started out in bass roles, and by the time of these recordings was adding the heldenbariton Wagner repertoire. Among the glories of his performances was his interpretation of Hans Sachs….Majesty, dignity, and sympathy combined with a black bass voice make for a most convincing Sachs.”